Everything Changed
by JanaeSpecter14
Summary: It's been over two years since the attack on the White House, and Mike and April have a wedding to plan. Though, two weeks before the wedding, the British Prime Minister dies. Now, they go to London. While everything in their life is changed, they're going to have to do the same thing they did two years ago. Do whatever it takes to survive.
1. The Claddagh Ring

**TWO YEARS LATER**

 _ **July 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2015**_

Mike paced in front of the Oval Office where he knew Ben was doing his work. Mike knew this was probably going to be the most awkward conversation he was going to have with the president. Including the conversation where Ben told him he knew about Mike and April's secret relationship. It had to happen, though. He couldn't go on any longer without asking this question.

With a deep breath, Mike steadied himself in front of the door before knocking. "Come in!" Ben called, that just made Mike's palms get sweaty.

Mike took another deep breath before opening up the door. Ben's eyes drifted up as he saw Mike close the door behind him. Once he saw it was just Mike, his eyes went back down to the paperwork. "Is it time already?"

"I'm early." Mike clarified. Ben nodded, barely hearing him as he was tied up in his work. "Sir," Mike moved forward, but Ben was still looking down. "I actually came early because I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Can it wait?" Ben spoke, not really looking up at him while giving him a half laugh. "The ball is tonight and I really need to get this stuff done before then."

"I'm afraid to make it wait." Mike mumbled, Ben not hearing from being so focused on his work. Mike knew he had to go ahead and ask or else he would lose all the courage he finally built up. "I want to ask April to marry me." Ben immediately stopped working, taking a moment before looking up at Mike who was giving him a shy smile. "And I would very much appreciate your permission, sir."

Ben was almost frozen, just looking up at Mike. Sure, he knew this day would come, but he didn't know it would creep up on him like this. He loved Mike. He loved April. He knew they loved each other. Although, April was his little girl no matter how old she got. It was going to be hard to accept it.

Speaking of the devil, the doors to the Oval Office flung open, April standing there with a clipboard in one hand and her hand up in the other. "What are you two doing? We have an event to get to and we're behind schedule." She motioned to the door dramatically. "Let's go."

Ben stood up, looking at her like he would never be able to look at her again. His little girl was about to get engaged. And then married. Mike was looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman on the world. He loved the look of her in her new job. Secret Service, Head of Planning and Logistics. April was beginning to find their stares creepy. "Why are you two looking at me like that?"

"No reason." Ben said while shaking his head. "We just love you, that's all."

April looked down at herself. She wasn't wearing anything out of the normal for her work day, her hair was tied up in a bun, she had the normal amount of makeup on her face. She didn't understand what was so great about her in that moment to make them look at her like that. "Am I dying?"

"What?!" Ben and Mike both asked at the same time, both with the equal amount of confusion on their faces.

"Well," April almost screamed out, throwing her hand in the air again. "You're both looking at me like I'm dying and I don't know about it!"

"Nothing's wrong with you." Ben spoke as he moved forward, placing his hands on her shoulders to look her over. April's eyebrows furrowed, not understanding why he was being like this.

April began to shake her head "You're creeping me out."

Ben rolled his eyes at his daughter before turning to look at Mike. "Let's just go before she gets more theories."

"Agreed." Mike scoffed out before walking ahead of the president, April standing there for a few moments.

"Okay," She called, finally deciding to follow them. "But you two were definitely talking about me."

"God, April," Mike spoke, turning around to look at her. "It's not all about you."

April gave him a dramatic eye roll he had to laugh at as she hurried behind Ben. Ben just continued to watch the two interact. This was what a soulmate was. They teased and talked with each other so naturally, it was actually kind of threatening. They were perfect for each other. So why did he feel so weird about the two getting married?

He didn't have time to think about that at the moment. A party was going on in his backyard and he had to mingle. He walked around to every guest, personally greeting all of them, April trying to do the same, but she had a lot more excuses to excuse herself now. And Mike was good and gauging when he should intervene.

April was now tapping her foot, talking with Senator Baxter. She wanted out, and Mike knew it. He walked up to the two, putting a hand on her back before going to her ear, talking just loud enough so the Senator could hear. "Miss. Asher, we're having a problem with the outer gate."

She looked to the Senator, giving him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Senator Baxter, but I do have to take care of this."

He gave her a knowing nod before turning around to find someone else to bore. As they began to walk away, April turned to look at Mike. "What took you so long? I was literally dying of boredom."

"Eh," Mike spoke with a shrug. "I guess you were learning the importance of the Red River rights."

"God," April spoke through a laugh and an eye roll. "I don't want to ever hear that name ever again."

Mike guided her out the back of the yard and to the outer part of the gate. The entire road behind the house was blocked off for the party with security on the other ends of the road. So, essentially, they were all alone. As alone as you could get in the White House. April found her hand easily intertwining with Mike's as she pulled off her heels and the two began to watch, enjoying being on the outside of the party. "What do you think of the party?" Mike asked, actually not really caring about the answer, but wanting to see her pretty face.

"It's okay, I guess." She looked down in thought. "It's distracting me from what tomorrow is."

"Hey," Mike whispered while stopping her to stand right in front of her by the gate covered with bushes, blocking the whole party from seeing them. "Don't think about that."

April scoffed. "Are you kidding me? It was two years ago, there's still some areas of the White House that are under construction. You know, like the area a helicopter crashed through."

"Oh," Mike scoffed with a nod. "Trust me, I remember that part quite vividly."

April's face began to get serious while looking into his eyes. "I have to be here every day and every time I turn a corner, I remember what it was like to see halls covered in dead bodies of the people I knew."

"You don't think I think about that too?"

April thought his sentence over. "Why do you have to pick the worst ways to arrange your sentences?"

"You think it's cute." He told her with a nod.

She smiled at the fact that he had caught her. "Okay, maybe." Mike smiled at her while leaning in to kiss her. "Maybe I think it's really annoying and I just want you to think I think it's cute."

"Oh." Mike whispered, only a few inches away from her lips. "Who's the bad one now?"

He leaned forward, taking a soft kiss from her lips, April's eyes still closed when they pulled away. "Yeah, well I've been living with you too long. You've rubbed off on me."

"Yeah." Mike laughed out before stealing another kiss. "That's it."

When he pulled away, he looked down at her. She was giving him such a loving stare; Mike knew there was no wavering on his choice. He wanted to marry her. He couldn't picture his life any other way. She gave him a deep, relaxing sigh. "I love you."

"I love you." Mike got a smile on face, a thought occurring that would sound almost better than "I love you". "What do you say after this, we get burgers and beers?"

"Burgers and _wine_." She spoke excitedly, Mike faking his excitement as well. "I'm feeling fancy tonight. Besides, Megan gave me that really awesome wine bottle for my birthday that haven't drank yet."

"Alright," Mike chuckled out before looking back over at the hedges. "Let's get back before they think we eloped."

April rolled her eyes before turning around and taking Mike's hand again. "Do you think I can get away with what I accomplished four years ago by making the ball a million times better?"

"April," Mike spoke while shaking his hand. "You're head of Planning and Logistics. You can kind of change what you want?"

"But it's more fun to sneak around." Mike rolled his eyes at her, but continued to grip her hand, not being able to wait to put a ring on her left hand's fourth finger.

* * *

Ben sat around as the place was getting cleaned up. He was still thinking about that bomb Mike dropped on him. He knew he did it tonight for the fear of losing his courage by the time he proposed, but did he really have to ask him right before the ball and have him thinking about it all night? "Dad!" He heard April call out. "We're about to leave!"

Ben immediately stood up, knowing he had to give Mike his answer before he left. "Coming!" Ben called.

Ben hurried to the front hall where he saw Mike helping April into her coat. He couldn't explain it, but that's when he made his decision. Mike was so careful and attentive as he placed the coat on top of her shoulders once she got her arms through. He pat her on the shoulders leading to her to turn around and look up at him. On his daughter's face, he saw nothing but love. On Mike's face too. And he knew they were destined to get married and raise a family together. He could practically see it now, and that was enough.

April turned around to look at her father before leaning forward and giving him a big hug. Ben hugged her tight, having a melancholy feeling about it all. He was happy for his daughter, but also sad she was growing up, but also immensely proud.

When Ben pulled away, he studied his daughter, April giving him another confused face at his look. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad." She laughed out before patting him on the shoulders.

Mike walked forward, Ben pulling him into a hug. "I give you my permission." Ben whispered low enough so April wouldn't hear.

Mike smiled as he pat his back, getting ready to release him. "Thank you, sir."

When they finally let go of each other, April looked back and forth at them. She had no idea why those two were acting so strange and it had been happening all night. She wasn't going to question it tonight. She was exhausted, but if this continued into tomorrow, she would definitely have an interrogation with one of them.

* * *

April sat across Megan as she brought out the Tupperware bowls she had brought. "Mike made pasta the other night." She told her excitedly as she scooted the bowl towards her.

"He's Irish, why is he good so good at making pasta?"

"Scottish." April corrected.

"Same thing." Megan spoke, already shoving a forkful into her mouth as April rolled her eyes at her friend, remembering when she was like that with Mike. "Did he go in today?"

"Yeah." April whispered as she began to push her food around in the dish.

"Hey," Megan spoke, moving her hand to grab April's. "I know this day is rough on you, so if you want to go back home, I understand."

April opened her mouth, about to speak when a door slammed behind them, but it sounded too much like a gunshot to her. She let out a scream as Megan began to stand up to the men who were wheeling in a patient from an ambulance. The majority of the men were medical assistants with both Megan and April. So, Megan decided to take action. "What's wrong with you, Chandler? We got a PTSD victim on her trigger day!"

"Sorry, Asher!" He called out over his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Rabin!"

Megan turned back to her friend, giving her a smile as April tried to calm her pounding heart. "Do you miss the hospital yet?" April gave out a loud fake laugh, making Megan smile more. "Are you two going to do anything for your anniversary tonight?"

April looked up, confused at her question. "It's just the two-year mark." April spoke with a shrug. "At the most we'll have dinner."

Megan suddenly became panicked at her answer. If only she knew what was happening tonight. "I mean you guys have been living together for two years without any problems, do you ever think about marriage?"

April stopped mid bite to look at her friend, trying to measure if she was serious or not. She was. April finished swallowing before looking back at Megan. "I mean…sure."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic." Megan was really starting to panic now.

April thought a bit on how to answer this before putting her thoughts into words. "Yes, I would love to be married to Mike _someday_ , just not today." Okay, she was panicking. "I just started up my career, I don't really have time for all of that." Megan was trying to take deep, calming breaths. "And what if we're one of those couples that is really good just dating, but married we're a mess and we end up getting a divorce in three months?"

"Yeah, I guess I can see that." Megan thought about how she was going to change her mind on this topic by tonight. "Don't you want children?"

April began to laugh as she put down her fork to look at her best friend. "Why are you so obsessed with this topic today?"

Megan shrugged, finding her panic rising. "Hypothetically."

"Sure," April spoke while throwing her hands in the air. "But not,"

"Right now." They both finished at the same time, April with an eye roll.

"Okay, Miss. Curious," April spoke as she grabbed her purse. "I should let you get back to work."

Megan looked back to the hospital with a deep sigh before looking back to her friend. "I don't want to go back. Take me with you."

April gave her a tight smile before grabbing her Tupperware. "Become emotionally compromised and maybe I will."

April left with a wave, Megan watching her until she was far enough away to pull out her cell phone and dial Mike's number in a panic. She bounced with anxiety as it rang until he finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Mike!" She screamed, making Mike jump from the shock.

"Fuck." He cursed. "I'm right here, Megan."

"We may have a subtle problem."

Mike moved away a little from the decorator, becoming panicked. "Is April okay?"

"She's fine, but she might not say yes."

Mike looked around, not wanting anyone around to know what was happening. "What did you do?"

" _I_ didn't do anything." Megan spoke, offended. "I simply asked her if she wanted to get married and she was like 'no, not right now. I have my career to focus on.'" Megan made sure to get her voice high pitch to mimic April's voice.

"She doesn't talk like that." Mike criticized.

"Yeah," Megan spoke, wanting to get back at him. "And it looks like you're not getting engaged tonight."

Mike turned around to look at how romantic the restaurant had become and how elegant the private room was for the engagement party directly after. How could she say no to all of this? "Yeah, well, we'll see about that."

* * *

When April got back home, she walked straight into her bedroom, wanting to just take a nap, and let this day be over with. When she shut the door to her room, she saw something on their bed. When she walked toward it, she realized it was a red dress with a low cut and low sleeves that would go just under her shoulders. She began to pick it up, not understanding where it came from. "What the hell?"

That's when she noticed the note next to the dress. She picked it up and began to read it, just leaving her with a location and time. The place they were supposed to have their first date three and a half years ago. "What have you got planned, Banning?"

She pulled the dress to her chest with a deep sigh, looking up in thought. Maybe all of what Megan was talking about today wouldn't be so bad right now. Maybe she would love it. She then looked to the clock. Shit, she had to start getting ready.

* * *

When April's limo pulled up to the restaurant, Mike was waiting outside for her. She began to smile as the car parked and Mike moved to it, opening her door and helping her out. "You are so ridiculous." She spoke as she moved her hand to hold his.

"I think I'm romantic." April rolled her eyes at him as they walked into the restaurant.

April immediately tried to go to the hostess, but Mike kept walking. Her eyebrows furrowed at the feeling of him going the other way. "Are we not going to eat?" She almost laughed out, but she mostly brought it up because she was hungry.

"Not there." He spoke obviously. As they walked through the restaurant, different members of the staff would walk by and give her an excited smile. Sure, she was famous, but not _everyone_ would recognize her like they were doing now.

April looked up at Mike, his smile was unchanging, and it was starting to drive her crazy. Something was happening, she just didn't know what the hell it was. April moved closer to Mike, putting her hand on his arm as they walked before leaning into his ear. "What are you up to?"

"You'll see." Mike was talking to her like she was an impatient child, and that was making April angrier than not knowing what the hell was going on.

They finally walked to the back of the restaurant. It was closed off with a private room shut next to it, and no one would be able to see them. That's what Mike wanted. April looked around as she took her seat, not quite sure what was going on. "Did you bring me here to kill me?" April joked as she picked up the menu.

Mike laughed as he finally got comfortable in the seat across from her. "Don't you think if I wanted to do that I would have done it already?"

"I don't know." April whispered, her eyes finally drifting up from the menu. "Maybe you were waiting for the perfect time."

Mike opened his mouth, about to counter what she said before their waitress came up and placed a bottle of wine on the table. April's eyes widened at the label. "No." She spoke, grabbing the bottle of wine by the neck. "We didn't order this, and I would never order such an exp – "

"It's already paid for." The waitress interrupted her.

April looked at Mike, and then the bottle of wine again. She knew for a fact if Mike was going to spend that kind of money on alcohol, it would have been bourbon. She then turned back to the waitress, her eyes still wide. "By who?"

She got an excited smile on her face, almost bouncing before telling her. "The President of the United States."

April pursed her lips together before looking back to the bottle. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"You two enjoy." The waitress spoke before leaving.

"Wait," April spoke, trying to get her attention, but she just kept walking. She looked to Mike in confusion. "We haven't even ordered."

"Don't worry about that." Mike spoke as he got up, beginning to unscrew the bottle.

"'Don't worry'" April repeated in confusion. "We're at a restaurant, and I'm starving."

Mike looked to her, sighing about how difficult she was making this. "We'll eat soon, don't get your panties in a twist."

April let out an angry sigh before leaning back into her seat again, and crossing her arms with a huff. She then looked to Mike who was struggling with the bottle of wine. "Do you need some help with that?"

"No." He told her quickly. "I can get a bottle of wine open."

April sighed while throwing her hands up in defense. "I just thought you would like to know that you're turning the screw to the right when you should be turning it to the left." Mike stopped what he was doing, looking to her, realizing she was right. "You know, righty tighty, lefty loosey." Mike took a deep sigh before turning it to the left now. He was almost shaking, making April laugh out. "Baby," Mike looked up to her, looking like he was breathing really hard. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I just," He backed away from the wine bottle before taking another deep breath. "I just want tonight to go perfect."

"Perfectly." She corrected while shaking her head.

Mike looked at her, about to get angry. She began to laugh while standing up. She stopped right in front of him, putting her arms around his neck as his moved to her waist. "No matter what we do, no matter what seems to go wrong, any night with you is a perfect night." Mike gave her a little smile, knowing this really was the perfect night to do this. "I will open the wine." She whispered before moving back to the table and taking the cork screw in her hands.

Mike took a deep sigh, knowing the second she got that bottle open, she would see the ring. She twisted and then pulled, the "pop" taking up the room. She sighed happily at the fact that she got it open before picking it up, about to pour Mike a glass, but something stopped her. Mike got a huge smile on his face. April was just frozen, looking down at the ring.

Mike walked forward, helping her pour the glass, only pouring just enough so the ring could fall out. April just couldn't take her eyes off the ring as he reached in his glass and shook off some of the wine before rubbing the ring with a napkin. "It's called a Claddagh ring." He continued to look at it as he wiped it. "It's very common in Celtic cultures."

April just kept looking down at the ring. "Mike." She gasped.

"Let me get this out." He asked her, finally making eye contact. "I practiced this a lot." April gulped before nodding, looking back to the ring.

"So, there's a lot of different legends surrounding the ring, but my favorite, and possibly the most accurate, has to be about a British soldier." April began to feel her eyes water. He loved that one because it was the most like them. She hadn't even heard the story yet, but she knew that was going to be his reason. "It's about a man who left his small town to fight in a war, and he promised his love that they were going to get married when he returns. Well, his ship was captured, and he was taken as a prisoner. He was specifically assigned to be the slave of a goldsmith. So, when William III rose to power, he commanded all British prisoners be released." April bit her lip, feeling the first tear fall down her cheek as Mike moved closer to her so she could get a better look at the ring. "But before he left, her crafted her this ring as a symbol of their love."

April sniffled before looking back up at his eyes once she got a good look at the ring. All Mike could do was continue to smile at her. "And that story is my favorite because it reminds me of us. No matter what happened, we found a way back to each other. Two years ago, we found a way back to each other even if it wasn't the best circumstance. If we're going to be real honest, I'm actually grateful for the attack on the White House because we probably wouldn't be here now if it didn't happen." April let out a tearful laugh before trying to wipe away her tears.

"So, April," Mike started again before getting down on one knee right in front of April, gripping her hands so tight with one hand, and holding the ring with his other. "Will you marry me?"

All April could do was look at him. She was so thankful to be blessed with an amazing, compassionate, funny when he wanted to be, asshole most of the time, but had a sweet spot you couldn't miss type of man. "April," Mike spoke again. "Your silence is kind of freaking me out."

"Yes." April almost cried out before putting out her left hand. "I'm sorry. Yes, I want to marry you."

Mike slowly placed the ring on her finger, making sure the crown on the top of the heart was closest to her. "This means that you're engaged." He explained. "When we get married, you're going to have to – "

April pulled him up so he would be able to look at her. She shook her head at him once he was standing in front of her. "I don't care right now, kiss me."

He did as she said, pulling her in for a huge kiss. April really couldn't believe she was here right now. She told Megan earlier that she didn't want to get married or have kids right now, but the second she realized what was going on, she knew that was all she wanted. And Mike, his nerves were finally the lowest they had been all week.

As they kissed, everyone began to open the private door right next to the table they were at. Ben, Conner and Megan were each sticking their head out of the door with big smiles on their faces. "Hey," Megan spoke, causing April to jump away from shock, but Mike just smiled while putting his arm around her waist. "Just letting you know that whenever you two are done there, there's an awesome engagement party going on in here."

"It is pretty awesome." Conner spoke with a nod.

"And we have food in here." Ben added.

April looked to the three of them, shaking her head with a tight smile on her lips. She couldn't believe that he did this. That Mike actually managed to pull all of this off. She grabbed Mike's hand, shaking her head at him before pulling him forward. "You're in trouble." She spoke in a mocking tone.

"Am I?" Mike asked with a little laugh.

April couldn't help the smile as she looked at him. Sure, he was in trouble, but there was no way she could stay mad at him for too long. "For the rest of our lives."

And when they walked into the private room, she was greeted with a room of friends and family that they could properly celebrate their engagement with. Mike did good. Ben knew that. April knew that. Hell, everyone knew that. And soon, the two would be getting married. Everyone in that room knew that no two people deserved each other more than Mike Banning and April Asher.

 ** _I'm gonna answer some reviews from the last chapter of Everything New._**

 ** _stormrunner74: Hahaha same. I would be a fumbling mess. I think she handled it a lot better than I would have._**

 ** _Mrs. HappyAnarchy: Yes! Secret Service April is going to be my favorite to write. I love writing her bad ass side!_**

 ** _Kagome309: Aw yes! The wedding will probably be at the end of this story, but you got the proposal!_**

 ** _Igor Blonsky: At least she kept her sense of humor lol. And who can resist strawberry?_**

 ** _CoolCat020: I'm glad I made you laugh! That was my favorite part!_**

 _ **micky mouse 17: Yeah, I'm just putting this story in the "Olympus Has Fallen" category because there is no "London Has Fallen"**_

 ** _MisfitCarter: Thank you so much! That was one of the best reviews I've ever gotten. I hope you like this chapter!_**

 ** _Okay, so I'm currently working on this fanfic and my Star Trek fanfic, so the updates are probably going to be kind of slow until I get to the end of that fanfic. I want to apologize for that. What did you guys think about the proposal! I hope you loved it! Also, make sure to check out my Star Trek fanfic if you're into that. Remember to review! I'm so happy to be back, and I hope you are too!_**


	2. Megan's New Beau

April woke up in her warm bed, feeling so refreshed. She actually woke up before Mike, believe it or not. She turned to look at her now fiancé letting out soft snores, making her smile. She then looked to her ring. She couldn't believe it. Just yesterday she was talking with Megan about how much she didn't want to get married, and now, here she was, engaged to be married.

As she laid there, she thought about their whole lives in front of them. Soon, they would be married, and then they would be expecting their first kid. April was smoothing back the hair on the top of his head while she thought about it.

There was just one problem in her fantasy. What were they going to do about their jobs? They both had dangerous jobs. Well, Mike's was more dangerous than hers, but just because she was the president's daughter didn't mean her obligations were any different. If anything was threatening the president's life, and she could do something about it, she had to do it. So, what would happen if they both went to work, and one of them didn't come back. Or worse, both of them didn't come back.

"Hey,"

April moved her head to Mike's at the sound of his husky, tired voice, giving him a little smile even if she was freaking out. "Hey." She spoke back.

Mike stretched his back a little bit before looking back to her. "How long have you been up?"

April shook her head like it was no big deal, but inside she was wondering how long she would be able to hide how freaked out she was getting. "Just a few minutes."

He gave her a little kiss on the top of her head as she took a huge breath. She was hoping he would be able to mistake it as a loving sigh. Mike picked up on that, though. "Hey," He squeezed her shoulders, with his arm draped around her. "Are you okay?"

April looked back to him, giving him a bigger smile than how she was feeling on the inside. "No. Nothing. Why would anything be wrong?"

Mike remembered what she had told Megan yesterday about how she felt about marriage. And now, he was worried that all of those feelings were still in there. He didn't want her to regret this. If she didn't want to get married, they didn't have to. He would rather be unmarried their whole lives and have her rather than the two get married, and April resent him for it. "Are you sure?"

April moved up to him, making sure to place her left hand on his cheek so he would be able to see her ring before planting a long, passionate kiss on his lips. As the kiss continued, they kept pulling each other in for more. That's when April's phone began ringing, and Mike was on top of her. "Ignore it." He told her through breaks for air.

"What if it's work?" She didn't want to answer it either, but not answering a phone call gave her anxiety.

No matter how convincing Mike thought he could be, he still knew her. She would never _not_ answer a phone. Even the "1-800" numbers. "They'll call back."

For the first time, April thought she was actually going to leave a phone unanswered since Mike's tongue was moving expertly this morning. But it just kept ringing! With an angry sigh, she pushed Mike off of her before rolling to her nightstand, and seeing it was Megan.

With another angry sigh, she sat up in her bed, holding a sheet to her chest. "This better be good."

Megan raised her eyebrows as she picked up a banana from the hospital cafeteria. "Why? Someone have a morning wood?"

Mike was moving to her, kissing her neck and nibbling on it. April was almost moaning. "Maybe."

"Oh my god." Megan sighed out while closing her eyes. "I was just joking, I didn't know that was actually happening."

Mike slowly moved down, running his finger along her panties. "If it's important, make it quick." She sang out.

"Okay," Megan spoke as quick as possible while Mike slipped one of his fingers inside her, making her gasp as her head rolled back. "I just wanted to ask you two if you wanted to go on a double date tonight."

April straightened right up. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah," Megan spoke with a shrug as she sat down in the cafeteria with a few other of her nursing friends. "I kind of met someone."

"Well, why the hell didn't you tell me last night?!" Mike could have been stabbing her at the moment, but she wouldn't notice. Her best friend just told her she was interested in someone, and she had absolutely no information on this.

"Because I didn't want you to get all nosy and ruin it."

"I'm not nosy!" April exclaimed, offended that she would say that.

Mike looked up at her from under the covers before shrugging before saying, "Eh."

April rolled her eyes before shoving his head back down under the covers and looking back to the phone. "What's his name? Where does he work? What's his social security number?"

"You will learn…" Megan had to pause. She was not going to learn his social security number. "Almost all of that information tonight." April scoffed. She wanted to know it now. "I'll text you the details, now go back to having sex."

"But I – " The line went dead, April looking to the phone with her mouth dropped. April threw the covers off Mike to tell this to his face. "She is the rudest person I've ever met!"

Mike looked so irritated with her. How hard was it to try and have sex with her? He thought this was supposed to happen after marriage. "You will be fine."

Mike then tried to go back under the covers to finish what he had started, but April was still angry. "How could she not tell me about that?"

He sighed again before coming back out, knowing sex was off the table for right now. "I don't know, April." He spoke as he straightened up. "She knew you were about to get engaged, I guess she didn't want to overstimulate you?"

"I'm about to overstimulate her." April mumbled under her breath. Mike then looked up at her, thinking about how their morning got started with a bit of a smirk. "Oh, you know what I mean."

Mike let out a frustrated sigh before looking back to her. "Can we please have sex before I scream?"

"Yes." April spoke before pushing him back down on the bed and climbing on him. "But I'm on top."

* * *

April wore a curve hugging cream dress, and Mike a suit with a blue tie as they walked into the restaurant. "I'm going to kill her when I see her." April whispered to him.

"You're not." Mike quickly spoke, calling her bluff.

"Okay, I'm not going to kill her, but I'm going to embarrass her at least once." Mike took this time to give her a long eye roll. You'd think a morning of sex would wring the craziness right out.

"You need to calm down."

April just rolled her eyes at that. "You don't know what it's like to be a girl." Mike felt like this was going to be a long night of eye rolling and drinking. "Guys don't talk about feelings."

Mike slowly turned to look at her. "We don't just talk about cars and guns."

April shrugged like it was obvious. "Well, yeah, there's sports too."

Mike just blinked at her as they slowed to a stop. "What else do you think we talk about?"

Before April could answer, Megan hurried over to her, wrapping her arms around her neck. "There's my beautiful best friend who I love."

"Yeah, cut the crap." April spoke, pushing Megan's arms off of her. "I'm still mad."

Megan let out a loud groan before looking back to her. "Come on, be happy for me."

"I might be when I meet and judge him."

Megan rolled her eyes before turning to look at Mike. "How are you?"

"Lovely." He spoke sarcastically before following Megan as April continued to stand there, glaring at the two.

April shook her head before eventually following. "Jerks."

Megan led them to the table Austin was already sitting at, drumming his fingers in a nervous beat. When he finally saw Megan followed by the secret service agent who saved the president and the president's daughter, he launched out of his seat from nerves. "Austin," Megan spoke, joining him on his side while Mike and April stood in front of them. "This is Mike Banning and April Asher."

Austin let out a nervous laugh with a shrug. "I know both of your names." Mike smiled at his joke, but April just didn't budge. She was too busy looking him over to make sure he wasn't a fuckboy. "Um," Austin spoke before leaning forward to shake April's hand, wanting to make the best first impression he could. "My name's Austin Florenzo."

April conjured up the best fake smile she could before leaning forward to shake his hand. "April."

Mike rolled his eyes slightly at his fiancé's behavior as Austin swallowed a lump in his throat from nervousness. "I'm Mike." Mike cut in, making April drop his hand so Mike could shake it.

April gave him a disapproving look before both of the boys sat on the inside of the booth, and Megan and April followed by sitting on the outsides, across from each other. "So," April spoke while looking to Megan. "I guess we should order drinks."

"Actually," Austin cut in. "I went and ordered a bottle for the table."

April shot a look at him. How did he know what she wanted to drink? "What bottle?"

"Merlot." Austin clarified. He seemed to be sitting on the edge of his seat. "Georges Duboeuf." April squinted his eyes. He said it in perfect French too.

"Wow, April," Megan spoke as she turned to look at her friend. "That's your favorite wine, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well, you told him that."

Megan rolled her eyes at her before April turned back to Austin as the waitress came up and began to fill their wine glasses. "So, Austin," She said his name in such a condescending way Mike had to cut her a disapproving look. "What exactly do you do so you can afford Georges Duboeuf?"

"April!" Both Mike and Megan scolded at the same time.

"What?" She screamed back. "It's a fair question."

"I'm a doctor. I just got hired at the hospital." Megan and Austin looked to each other, each having a wide smile on their face, Megan giggling a little bit. "That's how we met actually."

April's eyes were darting back and forth from Megan to Austin. "How exactly?"

Megan began to laugh while hitting Austin's arm. "Tell her."

"Well, I went to my first patient's room," April shared a tiny glance at how hard they were laughing about this. They went on for a while, interrupting and laughing with each other about a story of fumbling limbs and mistakes. April wasn't really listening, though. Not because she was trying not to listen to Austin, but because she noticed Megan's face. It was glowing. She was so truly and genuinely happy. April got a little smile on her face from that. How could she deny her best friend of something so great just because she was upset she just found out? Not when she knew how great love was. She learned that from Mike.

When they were done with their story, April moved to grip Mike's hand, reminded of how much she loved him. He gave her a confused look. She looked so happy. Something changed. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was actually really glad for it. She was happy for Megan.

April leaned forward to pick up her wine glass, raising it up while giving hr friend a bright smile. "I would like to make a toast." Megan turned her head to the side. She wasn't quite sure this was April anymore. April was really giving up so easily? "To new friendship and love." Megan smiled before leaning forward and clinking their glasses together. She was actually really proud of April for putting all of her anger aside.

"I concur." Megan spoke while giving her friend a proud smile. April just got a bigger smile on her face, knowing as long as Austin treated her right and made her happy, April could learn how to be his friend.

* * *

Mike and April walked into their apartment, April throwing her purse down on their entryway table before hurrying to the couch to kick off her heels and sprawl out on it. Mike shook his head with a little laugh before going into the kitchen. "Do you want a drink?"

"Yes." April spoke obviously before clicking on the TV.

After April had finally settled on a crappy reality show, Mike came back in with two glasses in his hands. "Can I ask you a question?" Mike asked as he handed her the drink and moved her legs so he could sit.

April took a big sip before looking back to him. "Go ahead."

"What was it?" April raised her eyebrows in confusion, waiting for some clarification. "What was it that made you do a full 180 on how you feel about Austin?"

"It's 360." April corrected with a blink.

"What the hell ever. I'm street smart and you're book smart. That's how this works." Mike sighed out as April just laughed about how angry he got. "What was it?"

April gave him a little smile before turning her body so it was fully facing him. "I don't know, I just looked at Megan and she looked… _so_ happy." Mike smiled, loving that he could look at her and just see how big her heart was. It was shining through all on her face. "I looked at her, and I was reminded how happy you make me."

Mike offered her a little smile, loving how they could still have this after knowing each other for so long. They could still make each other happy, and they could still feel their love just as they were discovering it for the first time. "I love you."

"Yeah?" April challenged, her face spreading in a smile. "Well I loved you first."

"You didn't." Mike taunted as he climbed on top of her.

April let out a loud laugh, shaking her head at him while he began to stroke her face. "But I did." She looked up at Mike, his eyes so playful in that moment. This is what she wanted. For her whole life. His eyes forever staring back to her. "And I'm happy about it."

Mike placed a small, soft kiss on her lips, loving this phase in their relationship at the moment. It was the highlight of how much they loved each other, and "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

April touched his face that time, thinking about what ran through her head this morning. "You're my hero." She whispered out. "All my life." She was paralyzed by fright again. How was it only now that the fears were running through her head? Why didn't they run through her head before? She thought they certainly would have after Mike returned back to work after the destruction of the White House, but for some reason it never crossed her mind. No matter what happened, Mike was always fine. She was always fine. He looked indestructible a few years ago.

But now, she was noticing the little things. Multiple things that could have caused harm to either of them. She offered him a small smile, though. She was going to act like none of it was bothering her. Mike was smarter than that, though. April may have been book smart, but Mike was street and people smart. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" April laughed out.

Mike shook his head, continuing to study her. Something was wrong. Something had been wrong all day. "I don't know, you've just had this look all day."

April shook her head. "I've never been happier."

Mike didn't believe her. There was no way those exact same looks happened in the same situation in the same day. Something was wrong. He was going to figure it out, but not tonight. He would let her have that tonight, but he wouldn't let her have that for long. Something was going on and he was going to figure it out.

 ** _Mrs. HappyAnarchy: Thank you so much, love! It feel so good to be back!  
_**

 ** _stormrunner74: Thank you, hun! I love proposals!_**

 ** _MisfitCarter: Your fangirling makes me so happy. I hope you love this one as much as the last one._**

 ** _RebeccaJoleneAumanWilson: This is honestly one of the sweetest reviews I've ever read. I read it and it made my day. I honestly couldn't stop smiling. Thank you so much, I hope you like this chapter too!_**

 ** _jocelynstilinski: SAME!_**

 ** _NGArmyWife: I'm so happy you loved it! I'm so glad you liked the proposal!_**

 ** _Gigi103: Thank you so much, but you should read the first one before this one. I'm sorry if you already have, but I just don't recognize your name._**

 ** _Igor Blonsky: Oh my gosh...could you imagine, though? Like they're not going to listen to anyone and they're going to have the biggest mouth. Like god bless Mike and April when they have kids because they're going to have the biggest handful. Thank you for the review, love!_**

 ** _musicluver246: Thank you so much!_**

 ** _It's so good to see everyone again, and even some new faces! This chapter got almost ten reviews! And it's just the first chapter! That means so much to me, you guys! Thank you all for the continued support. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have all of you! I'm sorry I'm not as fast with updating as I usually am. I'm just swamped with school starting back up, sorority activities, cheerleading, work and my other fanfic going on right now (screams for help). I hope you all liked this chapter, though. Let me know what you all thought, and everyone have an awesome rest of their day/night!_**


	3. The New Girl

April's elbows were propped up on the dining room table while massaging her temples. If Mike spoke one more word, she was sure she was going to lose it. She would be a widow before they were even married. "I'm just saying, it would be better if we have live music."

"No!" April screamed out before looking up at him and throwing her hands in the air. "What if they suck? I'm not going to have some band ruin our song!"

"Sweetheart," Mike spoke calmly before moving to the other side of the table and grabbing her hands. He pulled them down and looked right into her eyes. "You are the daughter of the President of the United States, and you also saved the country. You could probably have any band you want."

"Yeah, well, we're only going to have a band if it's Imagine Dragons." April then picked up her folder of wedding planning information before walking out of the kitchen.

Mike took a deep breath before rubbing his face to calm him down. "I love her very much." He said to himself so he wouldn't say something that would hurt her. "I love her very much." He repeated again. It was beginning to get harder not to say anything as he continued to rub his face. "I love her very much. I love her very much." He _had_ to say something. "April!"

"What?!" She screamed out from the bedroom.

Mike ran over to the bedroom, watching her as she took off her makeup in the mirror. "You can't just _do_ that." He complained. "You can't make every little decision about _our_ wedding."

April turned to look at him before taking a deep sigh. "Do you remember all those years ago when we supposedly had the best band in Washington DC at the Independence Day Ball?" Mike took a deep sigh before looking away, the wrong notes still haunting him in his nightmares. "And what happened?"

Mike's arms were crossed, but he was avoiding her eyes. He didn't want her to be right. "They were sharp."

"And flat." She added on before moving closer to him. "At the _same_ time." She moved out of his personal space before throwing her hands in the air again. "I have awful experience with bands, and I really don't want one at my wedding."

Mike sighed one more time, uncrossing his arms to talk with her again. "How about this," April sighed, really not wanting this conversation, but she was going to listen to him. Because she loved him. Or something like that. "We audition a few bands, and if you still don't like any of them, we'll get a DJ."

When April looked up at him, she gave him a little smile. She knew he wanted a band, and he was trying to compromise. She would do it for him. "Fine."

Mike walked toward her, before pulling her into a big hug. Her hands went to his chest as she shut her eyes, leaning into him. "I love you." He whispered before placing a kiss on the top of her forehead. "And I'm happy."

April opened her eyes, taking a deep breath before moving even further into him. "I'm happy too." She picked her head up to look at him as he looked down, showing their perfect height difference again. "I love you." The two then leaned forward, giving each other a kiss before pulling apart to get ready for bed.

* * *

April was buried in her phone as she walked through the halls, nearly running into Mike if he hadn't caught her. "Watch where you're going, would you?"

"I can't." Mike was now guiding her down the hallway as she continued to type away on her phone. "We're getting a new personal assistant for my dad today, and I have to make sure she knows exactly what to do, and not screw anything up."

"Who is she?" Mike asked, the question had been going through his head since April told him about her first hire.

"Her name's…" She looked down at her files for a moment before looking back up at her fiancé. "Brianna Lynn McGarrett."

"That's a mouthful." Mike scoffed.

"Well," April spoke as she finally looked up at him. "She's a Navy brat, knows a whole bunch of languages, black belt, stuff like that, so, I mean...she's qualified?"

"Any administrative experience?" Mike asked, annoyed that she didn't even think that through.

"Of course!" She stopped walking to turn around and look at him. "I'm not a complete idiot."

She rolled her eyes at him before going into the Oval Office to collect her father while Mike simply rolled his eyes back. When they acted like this together, it was hard to tell they were madly in love. "Come on," She spoke in a demanding tone as he just sat at his desk, plunged into his paperwork. "New girl's gonna be here any minute and you have to meet her."

"I'm busy." Ben grunted.

April simply rolled her eyes before hurrying to him and pulling him to stand up by the arm. "You're meeting her, I don't know what else to tell you."

"April," he complained, but April wasn't going to stop. He also needed a break, and meeting the new girl would be a perfect break.

"Come on, old man."

Ben rolled his eyes, but decided it would be easier if he just agreed rather than fighting her. "Fine." He spoke, straightening himself out before rubbing his jacket of wrinkles caused by her pulling. "I'll meet her, but then I'm going right back to work."

"Fine by me." April spoke before raising her hands to him.

Mike opened up the door for the two to walk out, April making sure her father went before her so he wouldn't run off like the workaholic he was. He rolled his eyes when he realized what she was doing before taking off. He quickly thanked Mike, letting April finally leave the office and head to the stairs.

Ben went down the stairs first, and as he walked down, he had to stop a little. There was a woman, getting checked over by Voight, and she was…beautiful. She had long, chocolate hair that was tied in a thick ponytail. It was brushed, but it most definitely wasn't heat treated like April did to make her hair strictly curly or straight, it was a mixture. And she was so tan. It looked like she had just gotten back from the beach. With that tanned skin, the main thing that stood out were her eyes. They were a deep, deep green. Like emeralds or an evergreen tree. Ben was in one word, smitten.

"Dad," April spoke as she moved past him and to Brianna. "This is Brianna McGarrett, and she is your new personal assistant."

Brianna grabbed her purse in a hurried fashion before scuffling over to the President, April and Mike. "Hi." She spoke before offering the President her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's…" Ben struggled for words for a moment before grabbing her hand. "Nice to meet you too."

April and Mike shared an intrigued look before looking back to the two, focused on their hands that were still connected in a shake. "I haven't had too much experience assisting, Ben, so forgive me." Ben smiled at her. He liked the way she said his name. "Oh, shit, I can't believe I just called you by your first name."

Ben laughed before shaking his head. "Trust me, I like that much better than Mr. President."

April and Mike were both fighting a smile as they looked back and forth between the two. "I also just cursed in front of you."

Ben shrugged again. "I like a woman with a mouth on her." April's eyes grew wide before placing a hand on her mouth. Ben's eyes grew wide when he realized what he said. "I didn't mean it like… I like when women are nastier." April pulled her hand off of her mouth, replacing that shocked expression with a dropped jaw. She had never seen her father flirt before. It was a train wreck. How did he ever get her mother to have children with him? "Not like that either." Brianna began to laugh, putting a hand over her mouth at how cute he was, fumbling with his words. "You know what I mean."

"I do know what you mean." She laughed out while taking her hand off of her mouth.

"This is fantastic." April whispered with a slight smile on her face. Ben shot his daughter a dirty glance before April turned back to Brianna. "Well, Brianna, Voight is going to show you around, and then you'll come meet with me, and we'll get the rest of your paperwork settled, sound good?"

"Perfect, April." Brianna shut her eyes again at how she called her boss by her first name. "Fuck."

Ben put his head down as he laughed at that. "It's fine." April assured her while waving a hand at her. "Go ahead and take your tour."

She gave April a smile before turning back to the President. "I'll see you soon, _sir_." She made sure to accent "sir" so she wouldn't call him by his first name again.

"Counting on it." Ben assured before shaking her hand again.

Ben then turned around, hurrying back upstairs, but he made sure to look back at Brianna while Voight began to lead her the other way. Once both of them were out of earshot, April and Mike turned to each other excitedly. "Did you see that?" April asked in a hushed whisper in fear that one of them would somehow be able to hear them.

"I think I would be blind if I didn't."

"Oh. My. God." April spoke, breaking apart every syllable, her mouth dropped in shock with a thinking look on her face.

Mike then began to panic, wondering if she was taking this in a bad way. It had been four and a half years since her mother's death. Maybe it was too soon. "Hey," Mike spoke before putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She turned to him with wide eyes, and he wasn't sure how to read it. It could be devastation, but it also could be excitement. "Are you kidding?" That still wasn't reassuring. "This is fantastic!" Mike let out a relieved sigh before offering her a little smile. "This is going to be fantastic. My dad could really use someone. It's just been him and Conner since I moved out, they could really use a woman." April's eyes then grew even wider. "Oh my god! I have to tell Conner!" She then hurried up the stairs, ready to assemble the old team. They had to get to planning how they were going to get Ben and Brianna together.

* * *

April, Mike, Conner, Megan and Austin sat in a circle around a chalk board in one of the secret tunnels in the White House. Austin had never been there before, and Megan had to swear him to secrecy since he really wasn't supposed to know about it. "Okay," April spoke as she stood up and picked up a piece of chalk. "We have to get working. I need suggestions on how we're going to get Ben and Brianna together."

Conner scrunched his eyebrows before looking to his sister. "Did you just call Dad 'Ben'?"

"Maybe." She spoke with a shrug before looking back to the board. "Okay, for real," She clapped her hands together before looking back to the board. "Suggestions!"

"Um," Megan began, a thought beginning to develop. "We can trick the two into having dinner with just the two of them?"

April hummed it over while looking to her friend. "I feel like we've done that one before."

Austin looked around at the group with a confused face. "How many relationships have you made?"

"Austin," April spoke while pointing the chalk at him. "Suggestion?"

Austin looked around, noticing everyone staring at him before going to the first thing that came in his mind. "We can…tell them that they…like each other."

April looked so disappointed at his "suggestion" before shaking her head. "Austin, if you're going to be a part of this group, you're going to have to work on better suggestions." April turned back to the chalkboard as Austin looked to Megan, thinking that suggestion was pretty good. Megan just leaned forward, placing her hand on his, giving it a little rub. Poor Austin. He had a lot to learn.

"We need something good." April was rubbing her cheek in thought. "Something that isn't going to mess anything up." She shot a look at Mike, and he gave her an irritated look, knowing that was a jab about his band idea.

Megan looked back and forth at the two in thought. "Hey, shouldn't you two be auditioning bands for the wedding?"

"This is more important." April spoke quickly so she wouldn't ask any more questions.

Megan threw her hands up in defense before whispering, "Whoa, bro." It was just loud enough for April to hear, making her roll her eyes. She was going to shoot back at her when Mike suddenly spoke.

"Power outage." Mike spoke as the idea simply popped into his head. April turned to look at him, a little smile growing on her face. "We fake a power outage, ask Brianna to stay late, so it's just us, a few extra Secret Service and them." April's smile just got wider as he continued to talk. "There's candles, take out, everything they need for a romantic realization."

April leaned forward, her and Mike's hands clashing together in a loud smack before looking back to everyone else just sitting there in awe at how loud that high five was. "And _that_ is why I'm marrying him."

* * *

Mike and April were the ones camped out by the power generator. Fortunately, they alerted the rest of the Secret Service about their plans so they wouldn't go into a frenzy when the power actually went out. April was currently holding onto the binoculars they were sharing, just waiting for Brianna to go in there, and ask him what time she was supposed to go home. "You know," Mike began as he looked at her, a little smile on his face at how cute she looked. "I was thinking," April moved the binoculars from her face to look at him, knowing this sentence could go in any way. "Maybe we do get a DJ for the wedding."

April's eyes widened, getting excited. Her excitement just made Mike smile even more. "Really?!"

"Under a few conditions." Mike clarified while raising a finger to her. "If I compromise, you're gonna compromise."

April sighed, wanting to know what his condition was before nodding in agreeance. "Fair."

"There will be a few songs that won't be played." April gave him a skeptical look. "Number one being 'The Hustle'."

April shook her head as she looked at him. Why would she ever have that play at her wedding? "You know, sometimes I forget how old you really are."

"No Cupid Shuffle." April gulped a little. Okay, that one she kind of had a problem with, but she could live without it. "No Cha Cha Slide." Okay, now he was being unreasonable. "Or The Wobble."

"No!" April complained that time. "You know The Wobble is my favorite!"

"That's the price you've got to pay if you want a DJ." April huffed at him before stomping her foot. "No organized dances."

April glared at him for a moment before remembering marriage was about compromise or whatever. "Fine." April sighed out before looking back to the binoculars. "No stupid organized dances, but be prepared to have the lamest wedding of the century."

"Perfect." He told her with a big smile.

She gave Mike a long, dramatic eye roll before turning back to her father's office window. Now she was even more irritated. That was until all the lights shut off without either Mike or April doing anything. She quickly turned to Mike with wide eyes. "What the hell was that?"

"Go." Mike urged, the two running back inside the White House. As Mike blocked the door, April began to hurry upstairs to her father's room. Mike and April had been through this before, and it wasn't fun. If the White House was under attack again, April thought she would most definitely lose it.

Mike hurried after her, but April was already all the way up the stairs and sprinting to her father's office. When April threw the door open, though, a fist immediately connected with her cheek. "Ow!" April screamed before grabbing her face.

"I'm sorry!"

April turned to where it came from, noticing Brianna's hands over her mouth. "What the hell, Ri?" April's voice was muffled, still holding her face. It really hurt. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

"I'm a Navy brat." She spoke as an excuse before taking her hands off her face.

"Everyone okay?" Mike asked while coming into the room.

"Yes." Ben spoke as April said, "No!"

That's when Megan and Austin came running into the room, Austin looking insanely panicked. "I might have accidentally turned off the inside generator." Austin apologized.

April shot him a dirty look, realizing her throbbing face was his fault. "You mean, they let you operate on people, but you don't even know how to operate a generator?"

Austin let out a nervous laugh while looking to everyone in the room. "Who are you?" Ben finally asked, never seeing Austin before in his life, and now he was standing in his office.

"Austin Florenzo." He spoke before leaning forward to shake his hand. "I'm Megan's boyfriend."

Ben shot Megan an impressed look before the lights finally came back on. Everyone sighed in relief as April looked around. "Is no one going to take into consideration that I was just punched?!"

"What the hell just happened?" Ben asked, looking around at the group, no one really making eye contact with him. "I want to know _now_."

Conner then came running in with an excited look on his face. "Did it work? Did they kiss?" April cut him a dirty look, Conner realizing he had came in at the wrong time.

"Did who kiss?" Ben asked, not taking his eyes off of Conner.

Everyone was quiet again, April knowing she had to speak since no one else was going to. Even if she was still gripping her face in pain, and her voice was about to be very muffled. "We just thought that you and Brianna had a lot of chemistry so we made a plan on how to get you guys together in a romantic setting, and," April shot another dirty look at Austin. " _Someone_ messed it up a little."

Ben paused for a minute, taking in everything his daughter said before turning to look at Brianna. He really did like her. The biggest thing he thought about, though, were his children, but here they were encouraging it. Brianna just kept looking down, obviously avoiding Ben's glance. Did she feel the same way? "Can I talk to Brianna for a moment?" Everyone stood there, not wanting to move at all. "Alone."

Everyone let out a loud sigh before walking out, April still holding her throbbing face. She turned back to look at Mike as they all walked out before him. "Are we going to do anything about my face?"

"I'll get you ice, cry baby." Mike spoke with an eye roll before shutting the door behind him. Once the door was shut, everyone put their ears to the door, listening as intently as possible, April still grabbing her cheek as she leaned forward, the closest to the door.

Ben turned around to look at Brianna before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, my kids are…eccentric."

"No," Brianna spoke with the wave of the hand. "It's fine." She then crossed her arms, not quite sure how to act around Ben now. "They were just looking out for you."

There was another awkward silence, everyone outside the door leaning even closer to it in fear that they were going to miss something. "I mean, they weren't wrong." Brianna looked up at him quickly, hoping he would bring it up rather than her. There was something there. They just weren't able to figure it out.

Ben was looking at her hopefully, knowing he hadn't felt this way about anyone since Maggie. The one thing he was terrified of was his children's reactions, but here they were trying to push them together. Maybe this was what was always waiting for him. Brianna then got a big smile on her face before nodding. "I'm glad they did it."

Ben looked down bashfully, Brianna doing the same. "Do you want to have dinner?"

Brianna looked back at him, the blood rushing to her tanned face. "I would love that."

Ben offered his hand, Brianna moving to him slowly. This was her boss. The President of the United States. This wasn't going to be a small step, but somehow it felt like the right one. She grabbed his hand as Ben moved to the door, opening it up, hitting April right on her bruised cheek. "Ow!"

 _ **stormrunner74: I'm sorry! Does "love" suit you better? I'm excited for London too!**_

 _ **RebeccaJoeneAumanWilson: Hehehe I'm still super giddy about the babies. I love being their honorary auntie!**_

 _ **Igor Blonsky: Yeah, and April knows that which has got to be tough on a girl. I hope you're liking the sequel so far!**_

 _ **MisfitCarter: Yay! Okay so Megan is my legit best friend, and her actual boyfriend is named Austin so that scene was also kind of based on the first time I met Austin, but now we're super close and I call him dad because Megan is my mom friend.**_

 _ **Mrs. HappyAnarchy: Haha she's her best friend and this is April we're talking about! She's a very protective person. I liked that bit too**_

 _ **NGArmyWife: Hehehe she might be. Thank you so much, love! I'm honored to write it for you guys!**_

 _ **Okay, funny story, Megan is a real person. She's my best friend and her legit boyfriend's name is Austin so when I was writing the part where Austin was in the group trying to come up with ideas, they were actually fighting. Just some trivia I thought I would share with you. I hope you all like this chapter and the new character! Thanks to RebeccaJoleneAumanWilson for giving me the idea (she's also having triplets named April, Ben and Mike *screams*). Remember to review!**_


	4. Take Me Home

**August**

April and Mike's apartment had become something else. They began getting all the boxes for their wedding in. The boxes of save the dates. The boxes of wedding invitations. The boxes of placemats and silverware. It was all beginning to be too much. April was just trying to get a glass of water, but there were boxes blocking her way getting into the kitchen. "Mike!" April called, getting flustered as she tried to move around the boxes. He popped his head in through the other side of the kitchen, ready to hear what she had to say. "I thought I told you to move these!"

"I did." Mike spoke with a shrug before walking into the kitchen, April letting out an angry sigh. She thought he would know better by now.

"Baby," April spoke to him as patiently as she could manage. "When I tell you to move something out of the way, I don't mean to put it somewhere else that's going to get in my way." April took another deep sigh before moving her foot. She forgot there were boxes there for a moment. "Fuck!" She screamed while grabbing onto her foot and dropping to the floor. Mike immediately ran to her, pushing the boxes out of the way, April gasping at the sound of clanking when one fell. "Not my silverware!"

"It'll be fine." He assured before scooping her up and hurrying into the living room to place her on the couch. When he did that, April continued to grab onto her foot, Mike now noticing she was bleeding. "Hang on." He hurried back into the kitchen, knocking over another box, making April grunt in annoyance. If she wasn't in so much pain right now he would definitely be getting an ear full.

He came back with a pack of ice before carefully placing it on April's toes. She let out a painful hiss as Mike looked up at her, trying to gauge her pain. "Thanks." She muttered after her hiss was done.

Mike stretched her leg out so he could rest her foot on his lap. "You're welcome." She gave him a little smile, Mike returning it, a little idea running through his head. "You know, I've been thinking – "

"Thinking about my beautifully wrapped silverware probably all over the box right now?"

He shot her a dirty look as April smiled before Mike eventually laughed. "No." He looked down at her foot, beginning to move the ice pack around, finding himself kind of nervous to bring this up. "I was thinking about us buying a house." April let her jaw drop a little as Mike was still looking down at her foot. She hadn't even thought about that. "You know," Mike spoke, finally picking his head back up to look at her. "I feel like we're running out of space in here more and more every day, and I got this apartment after Leah and I split up which wasn't my best time. I want a place that represents our next chapter."

April bit her lip. Mike had been so sentimental in the past few months, she was loving every bit of it. And he was right, they needed some place they could grow into. They needed a place where they could form a new beginning. April slowly nodded as Mike looked at her, giving her a big smile as April began to laugh. "I would love to buy a house with you."

Mike then leaned forward, giving her a big kiss that made April scrunch her lips together through her smile. She was already envisioning it. Their perfect house where in a few years they would be hearing the pitter patter of little feet.

* * *

Mike and April walked around the house, Mike holding onto the pamphlet, tapping it with his index finger in thought. April's arms were folded, extenuating how tight her purple tank top really was as she investigated the cabinet space. April wasn't sure if she really liked this house. It was pretty and big. Big enough to raise the kind of family she wanted, but it just didn't feel like her house. And they knew this was a big decision. They would live here for probably their whole lives, and they knew they had to be sure.

Mike turned to look at April, wanting to know if he was thinking the same thing she was thinking. This wasn't their house. "What do you think?"

April turned to Mike as they walked out of the kitchen, reaching for his hand. She opened her mouth, about to give him an answer when another high pitched voice came out. "Oh my god, Mike!"

Mike stiffened once he saw her before shutting his eyes. "Oh my god."

April's eyebrows furrowed as the blonde with the big hair came walking over with what looked like a male model wrapped around her arm. "Who the hell is that?" Her voice was more scared than accusing.

Mike took a deep sigh while shutting his eyes. No matter how hard he shut his eyes, that wouldn't change her weaving through the crowd to get to him. "One of Leah's friends."

April looked back to the woman, wishing there was a way they could duck out, but there was just so many people. It would be impossible to get away now. "Shit." She cursed just as the blonde made it to them.

"Mike," She spoke through a smile before leaning forward and hugging him.

Mike looked so uncomfortable as they leaned in. He wanted to get out of that whole house. Maybe that wouldn't even be far away enough. "How are you, Patty?"

"Paula." She corrected when she pulled away to look at him, still wearing that big, fake smile.

"Whatever." Mike spoke while shaking his head.

Paula probably didn't even hear Mike. She was too distracted on who he was with. "You must be the president's daughter." April extended her hand, deciding it was probably better to be polite right now. "Amber?"

"April." She corrected as Paula finally took her hand. She knew she was doing that on purpose, but April was not going to let that get to her.

"Right, April." When the two finally let go of each other's hands, Paula turned back to Mike. "Well, I haven't seen you in a few years."

"No." Mike spoke through a laugh. He wanted to keep it that way. "We've been kind of busy with – "

"Oh my god." Paula spoke, her eyes looking down at their hands. Their hands were held, but that wasn't what she was shocked about. April's hand was outward, revealing her engagement ring.

"Oh my god." Mike whispered. He hated this. He hated all of this. Why Leah's most annoying friend out of all the friends they could have ran into?

She looked back to Mike with her jaw dropped before looking back to April. "You two are engaged? How…great?"

April studied her before turning her head a little bit, and a small smile on her face. Something about how she said it made her think it wasn't a real compliment. "Thank you."

"Let me see the ring!" April hated how she was acting like they were old friends, but April also knew what she was doing. If her or Megan were in the same situation Leah was in, they would be doing this for each other too.

April brought out her hand, letting Paula take it in hers to inspect it. "Huh." April's smile immediately fell, knowing this trick too. "Leah got a diamond."

"Well," April spoke, bringing back a tight smile, trying to let her know in some way that she wasn't getting to her, but in all honesty, she really was. "This ring means way more to me than a diamond ever would."

Paula shrugged before bringing her hand down and looking April in the eye. "I would prefer the diamond, but good for you."

April was screaming internally before looking to Paula's significant other. "So, are you two house shopping or just trying to get an idea of what you would want in the future?"

"House shopping." The man said with a nod.

"Oh," April spoke with a nod before looking Paula up and down, realizing she was missing something April did have. A ring. "Good luck, I know it's really hard to keep an uncommitted relationship going after purchasing a house."

"No." Paula spoke while leaning into the man. "We're committed."

April scoffed with a nod. Two could play at this game. Paula just didn't know. "Hard to tell if a relationship is going somewhere if there's not some kind of promise." Paula's jaw dropped as Mike tried to hide his smile. April continued to nod, showing the same fake concerned face Paula was showing when she saw April's ring. "But good for you."

"Anyway," Paula said loudly, showing she was ready to leave this conversation. "We still have to check out the upstairs, but we'll definitely see you on your way out."

"Yes, of course." April spoke while touching Paula's arm with a large fake smile. "Nice to meet you, Patty."

"Paula." She corrected as Mike and April began to move past them.

"I don't care." April mumbled under her breath. They continued to walk until they were sure the two wouldn't be able to hear them. Once they were set, April turned to Mike with wild eyes, Mike beginning to get very concerned with her sanity. "I want it." Mike leaned into her as if to ask for clarification. "I want the house."

Mike blinked before coming up with the only response he could. "What?"

"I want the house. I think we should get it right now."

Mike laughed a little, realizing what she was doing. "You just want the house because Paula wants the house."

April looked around a little, not sure why he was bringing the obvious up. "Yeah? So?"

"April," He spoke slowly, knowing this was her dominance talking. "Do you even like the house?"

"It doesn't matter!" She stressed while stomping her foot a little. "I'm not letting that bitch have it."

Mike took a deep sigh before looking around the house. This wasn't it. This was not their place. He was hoping April would be able to figure out that their house was more important than showing up to someone they would probably never see again. "Fine." Mike spoke before tossing his hands in the air. "Do what you want." April nodded, knowing she had the right. "But just think about what you're doing before you do something you're going to regret."

That froze April as Mike leaned forward to give her a big kiss on the head before walking off. April looked over the place again before taking a deep sigh. He was right. She didn't want to admit it, but he was right. If she chose this house out of spite, it would never mean anything to either of them. This was more something Leah would do, and that was the last person she wanted to be compared to.

"April," Paula spoke from behind her. April rolled her eyes, finding herself annoyed all over again. "It's a pretty place, isn't it?"

April turned around to look at her, realizing Paula was trying to figure out what she thought about it to decide if she wanted it or not. She knew that kind of pettiness. She had that kind of pettiness less than thirty seconds ago. "Yeah, gorgeous," April then leaned in, deciding she was going to mess with her. "But I heard the realtor whispering on the phone about mildew in the basement." Paula's eyes got slightly wide. "But I mean, it's just the basement. If you bought it, it wouldn't be the only poisonous thing inside." April then began to move past her, breaking up her and her boyfriend in their arm embrace that seemed to never break. "See you, Patty."

"Paula!" She barked out, her voice a slightly higher pitch at how shaken April had made her.

"Still don't care!" April called behind her shoulder, not even taking the time to turn around and tell her.

When April got outside, she saw Mike standing in the yard, looking out at all the houses surrounding them. Sure, this would be a good neighborhood, but this just wasn't their house. They knew, there was a better house out there for them. One that would change their life. April hurried past him, going towards their parked car as Mike furrowed his eyebrows at her. She turned back to look at him, giving him a shrug. "Come on, our dream house is out there. Are you gonna help me find it?"

Mike got a large smile on his face before running after her, placing a big sloppy kiss on her mouth, making her laugh as she fell back on their car. April was just hoping their dream house was still out there.

* * *

When they went to the next house, no one else was there. It was just a private tour for them. And they had quickly fallen in love with it. The realtor lead them to the back of the house, opening up the sliding glass door so they could check out the backyard. There was sun making a glare on the window, so they couldn't clearly see it from inside the house, but once they walked outside, they knew this was their house.

There was a small patio with rafters above it, the wood painted a blue-grey. The staircase that led down into the yard was sanded down to pure perfection, there wasn't a chip in sight. That went along with the whole patio, it all seemed like there was no way it was real wood, it was so smooth. As they walked down the steps, they were brought into the greenest, fullest grass they had ever seen. Mike and April didn't know if it was the fact that they loved the house so much making everything seem perfect or if it really just was.

As April looked out on the huge backyard, she began to think about their future kids running around barefoot. She then turned to look at the left of the yard, seeing there was a gate and a little sidewalk that led to a garage. She just kept picturing the kids playing in the back, and their faces lighting up whenever they saw Mike pull in.

Mike was distracted by the little garden bed. The soil looked good, and there were small stones around the dirt ranging in different sizes. He kept picturing April kneeled down in the dirt like a princess. Dirt would be on her face, but she would still manage to look flawless. Mike would be standing on the patio, looking down at her from the railing while drinking a beer, a smile on his face as he watched her plant the newest flowers she had found.

They both had huge smiles on her faces before turning to look at each other. April had a hand on her abdomen as Mike moved to hold her other hand. April let out a little laugh, judging by the look on his face that he thought what she thought too. "I think we just found our house." She laughed out.

"I think we did." He agreed before moving in to hug her.

"So," the realtor spoke as she moved forward, not wanting to break the two apart, but wanting to be close to the two. "Can I draw up the paperwork?"

Mike and April looked to each other before breaking apart, knowing they didn't need to talk it over. This was their dream house, and it felt so surreal that they were actually going to purchase it. "Yes." April finally answered before pulling her phone out of her back jean pocket. "But can you take a picture of us, first?"

"Of course." The realtor eagerly took her phone as the two got placed right in front of the patio.

April was initially standing on Mike's right, but she then thought of something. "Wait, switch places with me."

Mike turned to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Because that bitch pissed me off about my ring, and I want everyone to see it because it's amazing."

Mike shrugged before moving to her right and the two got set again. When the realtor brought the phone back to April, and they two studied it, Mike nodded in approval, knowing they couldn't get back at Paula with the house, but they could get back at her with this picture. "Post it."

April turned to look at him, a sympathetic look on her face. "Aw, you're learning to be petty." Mike leaned into her, giving her a small smile. "I love it."

He put a small kiss on her lips as the realtor went inside the house to begin the paperwork. When they pulled apart, he looked right in her eyes. "We just bought our first house." He whispered into her ear.

"I know." Her voice was filled with excitement as she spoke. "We get to deal with mortgages and fun adult stuff like that."

"Oh," Mike laughed a little. "I honestly can't wait." April gave him another small kiss on the lips. "I told you if we waited we'd find the perfect place."

April looked up in his eyes, wishing they could fill this place with children right now. Even though most of the time, she hated it when he was right, she felt different this one time, and only this one time. "I love it when you're right."

* * *

The four were stretching out on Mike and April's new front lawn. Mike on the far left, April and Ben in the middle and Brianna on the far right. "Alright," April announced as she picked her leg up and stretched it behind her back. "Whoever makes it down the block first wins."

"What do we win?" Brianna asked excitedly, leaning over Ben to look at her.

April was in the middle of stretching her arm back before looking to her. April honestly had no idea. "Uh, I don't know...satisfaction?"

Brianna shrugged before going back to her stretches. "Works for me."

"We gonna run or chat?" Mike asked as he turned to the two girls. April rolled her eyes at him before everyone got set in a running position.

"On your marks," Ben began.

April got up from her running position to give an angry sigh to her father. "Do we really have to do that?"

"Go!"

Everyone else took off as April continued to stand there. "Hey!" She yelled as they ran off. "This is my house!" None of them slowed down. One of the Secret Service guys rolled up in his car right next to her. "I hang out with assholes." She told him. "The man running our country is an asshole, his girlfriend is an asshole and the one protecting them is an asshole."

His eyebrows furrowed before giving her a confused glance as she just began to walk, finding running pointless now. "Does that make me an asshole?"

"No." She sighed out while watching them run. "Mike is the only asshole out of you guys."

He began to chuckle as April watched them all run, getting a little smile on her face. This was her house. She had a house to call her own and some of the most important people in her life were running outside of it. She loved everything about the past few days. And she loved that Mike and April's lives were finally coming together.

 _ **Igor Blonsky: Haha I told that to my dad because I always claim how funny I am and he never says I'm funny so thank you for proving to him that I'm funny. I feel like they should celebrate their age differences. Yeah, it's not the most normal thing, but who wants normal? And Love Actually is honestly my favorite Christmas/romantic movie of all time, and David and Natalie are my favorite story, so I would be lying if I said that's not where my inspiration came from because it totally is.**_

 _ **Mrs. HappyAnarchy: GIRL! THE PREZ JUST MIGHT! Also, thank you, love!**_

 _ **MisfitCarter: I love making people laugh! In my sorority, I'm the class clown, and I love making the girls laugh so I'm glad I can make all of you laugh too! Your reviews always make me feel so good, so I want to thank you for always being committed and friendly! You gotta make the characters real or no one reads, and I like to make them feel real through making them funny or giving them a flaw (like April's pettiness in this chapter)**_

 _ **RebeccaJoleneAumanWilson: Um, hell yeah! They all need to chill in Hawaii!**_

 _ **Guest: Hahaha that's what I had to do sometimes when I was dating my boyfriend and he pissed me off, so, I felt Mike in that moment.**_

 _ **NGArmyWife: He does! I love matchmaker April! And I love when the kids want the parents to move on, it shows so much maturity to me, and a want for the parent to be happy. I'm so excited to write more of Brianna and what's going to go one with her and April as friends!**_

 _ **Alright, my friends, here's the new chapter. I'm not sure if I told you guys, but I know I told my Trekies, so I'm just going to tell you again if I already have. The chapters are going to take approximately two weeks from the update date for a new chapter. With me having school and another story I'm working on, it's just impossible for me to crank out the chapters as fast as I usually do. This week it was a combination of studying for tests and Santa Clarita Diet coming out (omg that show is amazing, if you haven't seen it, definitely check it out). Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter, and let me know what you think! Love y'all!**_

 _ **PS: I'm sorry I'm so dumb and put up my Star Trek chapter instead of the new one, thanks stormrunner74 for letting me know!**_


	5. Family Matters

**September**

April had multiple sheets on the floor in front of her as she went through them, all of them having different pricing and packages. "Oh," Brianna spoke while pushing it towards April. "What about this one?"

April glanced at it quickly before looking up at her friend with a fake smile. "Honey, Eden Nightclub is where Georgetown students get shot."

Brianna gave her a dramatic eye roll before looking back to the other papers lying around them. "Well, sorry I didn't go to Georgetown."

April looked up at her, scoffing. "No, you just went to college in the most beautiful place on earth."

"I'm a Navy brat and my mom is Hawaiian, deal with it."

April gave her a fake angry glare while a smile was creeping on her face. Mike walked into the living room of their house, seeing the two on the floor with a beer in his hand. He looked back and forth at the two, who were now laughing, with a confused smile on his face. "What are you two hens gibbering about?"

"Brianna's birthday party." April spoke while turning to look at him.

The smile fell off Mike's face, realizing he was about to be recruited to help. "Yeah, I'm out of here."

"Mike!" April called, grabbing onto his arm before he could make it out. "We need a place. That's all you have to help us with and then you can leave." He gave her a terrified face, not wanting to do this at all. "Besides, Megan's on her way and she can help us after that, but until then, this is your job."

There was then a knock on the door, Mike's ears perking up a little. "Oh, please, God, let that be Megan."

Mike then bolted to the door as Brianna laughed, making April turn to her while throwing her hands in the air. She couldn't believe she had to put up with this man for her whole life. When both Megan and Mike got past the entry way and into the living room, Megan looked slightly terrified. "He said he had never been happier to see me in his entire life."

April gave him an irritated glance before he went up to her and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You ladies have fun, I'm gonna be in the room."

April mimicked him as he talked, but he quickly shut the door after. "So," Megan spoke, taking her purse off her shoulder before sitting down. "What did you girls get done without me?"

"Not much." Brianna admitted before taking a sip of her wine.

"Well," Megan sighed out before grabbing the spare wine glass and the bottle. "That's understandable. You two can't get anything done without me."

April then turned to Brianna, nervous to ask her this question she had been thinking about all day. "Brianna," She turned to her, her eyes slightly wide in fear, knowing that tone of voice by now. April was about to ask her for a favor. "Would you totally hate me if I invited someone else to your party?"

"April Marie Asher," She scolded. "Are you seeing another man?"

"Oh, my god." Megan spoke, her mouth full of wine. "Are you pulling a Mike Banning on Mike Banning?"

April stopped to give an irritated look to Megan before turning back to Brianna. "No, I actually wanted to invite Mike's dad."

"Wait," Megan spoke, moving to sit down on the floor with the other girls. "Are you serious? I thought Mike hates his dad."

April quickly looked in the direction of their bedroom, scanning to make sure the door was fully closed before talking again. "Yeah, but I want him there for the wedding, and I want him to know me before his son commits the rest of his life with me."

"I don't know." Megan spoke while shaking her head. "This sounds like a can of worms you don't want to open. You know hardly anything about his dad. What if he's an asshole?"

"Oh," April scoffed. "How bad can he really be?" She then turned back to Brianna. "No matter, their relationship, he's family, and I want him to be there. He's gonna be my father-in-law for Christ's sake." April put on her best puppy dog eyes. "So, Brianna, do you mind?"

Brianna sighed, not liking the idea as much as Megan, but she nodded. "Yeah, of course, bring whoever you want." April squealed with excitement as she leaned forward and hugged her friend. "But I'm just going to advise you to be careful. You don't know what you're getting yourself into here."

Megan threw her hands in the air, knowing this was a terrible idea. "April, don't do it. You don't even know the guy."

April ignored her friend before nodding to Brianna. "I will be careful." Megan simply rolled her eyes, knowing this was going to be the dumbest decision April had ever made.

* * *

April joined Mike at their favorite lunch spot. When she walked in, she was glued to her phone, just walking to their usual place. Mike just watched her with a little smile, thinking about what would happen if he was at a different table. When she finally looked up from her phone, she gave him a little smile before leaning forward and giving him a small kiss. "How are you?"

"Fine." He took a drink of his water before speaking again. "I went ahead and ordered that turkey pesto panini you like."

April gave him a grateful smile with a little sigh. "You're heaven sent."

"I try."

April put her phone down completely before taking a large sip of her waiting Diet Coke. She was starting to feel really guilty about not telling him what she had planned. And the party was tonight. His dad was on a plane right now, and he had no idea. "So," April began while scooting her drink away from herself. "What would you think about us inviting your dad to the wedding?"

Mike went stiff at his father's name while countless bad memories flooded into his brain. "I would say that's a bad idea."

April leaned forward, wanting to understand exactly what it was about his dad. She knew he was a drunk, and that's why Mike went down that road for a while, but she never got the specifics. From what she knew, he had cleaned himself up somewhat. "But why?"

"April," Mike laughed out while grabbing her hand, looking him in the eye. "I'm used to my father disappointing me, but I won't have him disappoint you." He shook his head at her while giving her another little smile. "I haven't seen my father in over twenty years, and I want to keep it that way." April took a deep gulp while giving him a little smile, wondering if Megan was right. Maybe this was a stupid idea, and she would end up opening more wounds than healing them. "Just please don't bring it up again?"

April nodded, but she couldn't find herself to say anything. This was going to be an interesting night.

* * *

Megan walked with April into the airport as April's heals clicked rapidly down the halls. "Okay," April spoke while turning to look back at Megan who was struggling to keep up with her quick, long strides. "I managed to work it out so Brianna's parents and Mike's dad would arrive at the same time. So, we just have to get them to the hotel, and a car will come to pick them up for the party when it's time."

"You know," Megan sighed out. "I can see why you're head of logistics."

April turned her head to the side, not stopping her pace. "Thank you?"

"So, how pissed do you think Mike is going to be when he finds out that you invited his dad?"

"You're not helping." April sang out, finally stopping once they had reached the gate.

"No," Megan sighed out while looking up in fake thought, a big smile on her face. "But I am right."

"Honestly," April hissed while turning around to look at her. "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"No." Megan scoffed. "It's my job to tell you when you're being an idiot. Which you are being."

All April could do was roll her eyes. Megan just didn't understand what it was like to have some of the most important people in her life no longer around. April wanted to surround herself with all the family she could get even if it was someone Mike seemed to hate.

"Is that them?"

April perked up at Megan's observation, looking to where she was looking. A middle aged man and woman with a two year old. April kind of turned her head to the side. Brianna told her that she had a baby sister, but she had no idea her sister was actually a baby. The young girl was waddling around, holding onto her mother's hand. She had her father's blonde locks. And Brianna's mother, well, you could tell who Brianna looked like instantly. "Are you, April?" The man asked.

"I am." April told him with a happy smile before leaning forward and shaking his hand. "You must be Mr. McGarrett."

April gasped a little bit at his handshake. Wow, he was really strong. She could see how he was in the Navy, and now a cop. April turned to look at Brianna's mother, giving her a warm smile before breaking out of her handshake. "And you must be Mrs. McGarrett."

"Oh please," She spoke before letting go of her daughter's hand to move towards April with wide, open arms. "Call me Gaby." She then pulled April into a big hug, April laughing a little about how open she was. She was reminded of her mom a lot in that way. "Please, excuse my husband," She spoke while pulling away from April before giving him a disapproving glance. "Steven takes a while to open up to people."

Steven gave her a little eyeroll, but had a smile on his face despite it. April looked down to the little girl, giving her an excited smile. "And you must be Jordyn."

The little girl gave her a big smile before shaking her head. "I Jody, I no baby."

April let out a little laugh, Gaby looking to her with an apologetic stare. "Sorry, she's almost two years old and already thinks she's an adult."

"She's adorable." April defended while shaking her head. When she picked her head up, she saw a man who looked just like Mike walking around aimlessly. She then turned back to Megan. "Do you mind?"

Megan took a deep sigh, looking right where she was looking. "Go ahead."

April took a deep sigh before walking towards him. She could hear Megan behind her talking with the family, but it was just faint since April's heart was pounding in her ears. It was almost like this was her estranged father she hadn't seen in years. She imagined what he would look and be like, and now she was only a few feet away from him. His back was turned to her, causing her to clear her throat before speaking. "Michael?"

When he turned around, April had to gasp at how much Michael Sr looked like Michael Jr. "And you're…"

He was struggling to remember her name. "April." She offered.

He then snapped in memory. "April. That's right." He looked her up and down, almost like he was judging her, making April look at herself self-consciously. "So, you're my son's fiancé?"

"Yes, sir." April spoke before closer to him and sticking her hand out. "It is so nice to finally meet you."

He simply walked past her, more interested in what was in the airport than with her. April gulped a little, and Megan began to glare in his direction, seeing exactly what he did to April. "I've never been in Washington DC before." His Scottish accent was just as thick as Mike, Daniel and Ainsley's.

April's eyebrows furrowed. Then she remembered he and Mike hadn't talked in over twenty years. "It's great, I'm sure Mike and I will be able to take you on a tour tomorrow." April then laughed a little as a thought came to her mind. "We might even get you some exclusive access in the White House."

He still seemed uninterested. April now felt like she was in a battle for his attention. Maybe this is what Mike was talking about. Maybe this was what it was like growing up with him. He finally looked back to her, April finding herself frozen that he actually knew she existed. "So, is there a place I can go to freshen up before the party?"

"Of course!" April hurried towards him, and he stepped back a little at her enthusiasm as she looped her arm through his. She was going to make him notice her if it killed her. "Mike and I picked out a hotel for you to stay at, and you have a few hours before the party to clean yourself up and get used to the time difference."

Michael Sr then gave her an unsure face. "Mike knows I'm here?"

"Well," April whispered, not wanting to go into much detail about how she was lying to both her future father-in-law and husband. "We'll see what he says at the party."

* * *

April was walking around the nightclub as people around her danced, a proud smile on her face at what she had put together. Just then, she felt arms wrap around her neck, panicking her almost instantly. "Oh, April!" That was Brianna's voice. "Thank you so much!"

April smiled, knowing automatically knowing she was thanking her for her birthday present. "The least I could do is fly your family in after everything you've done for mine, and I want to see my dad squirm around your dad. Are my speculations correct? Is it hilarious?"

Brianna let her go, letting the two girls face each other. "No. You've done way more than enough already." Brianna then looked around the place, the big smile on her face never going away. "You put this whole thing together, and it's amazing. And yeah, it is pretty hilarious." She didn't even give April time to laugh, her eyes getting wide as another thought came into her mind. "What about Mike's dad? Is he here?"

April looked down at her phone, checking the time. "He should be here in a few – "

"April!" When April looked up at that familiar Scottish accent, she went stiff. Mike, Daniel and Ainsley were all making their way toward her. No. No. This could not happen. She couldn't have them all here when Mike's dad walked in.

"Ainsley!" April chuckled out before leaning in to hug her future mother-in-law.

"Oh," She laughed out while pulling away from her. "It's 'mum' now. Let me see the ring!"

April turned around to look at Brianna, giving her a panicked smile. "Brianna, this is Ainsley and Daniel, Mike's mother and brother." Brianna's eyes got a little wide at what April had said, realizing the problem.

"Oh, my goodness," Brianna spoke while leaning towards them. "It so nice to meet you two."

"Oh," Ainsley spoke, moving towards her with a wrapped gift. "You must be the birthday girl."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay," April spoke looking back to Mike, giving him a nervous laugh he turned his head to. There was something going on with her. "Why don't you two get acquainted, and I'm going to steal Mike away for a moment."

April didn't waste one second, pulling Mike by the arm and out the door. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, completely confused by her behavior.

April's hands began to shake as she thought over everything she had just done. This was a bad idea. Like the worst idea she's ever had. Mike noticed her shaking hands, taking them in his instantly, his anger melting away, now only concerned with what was going on with her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

April's breaths were shallow and quick as she looked everywhere, not really focusing on one thing. "I fucked up, and you're gonna be so mad at me."

"Hey," Mike began, April finally looking up at him. He opened his mouth again, ready to talk to her when there was another voice which sent a shiver up his spine.

"Son."

Mike looked at April, his eyes filling with fire as April tried to plead with him without saying a word. "So, that's it?" Mike spoke while nodding. "That's why you asked all those questions earlier?"

"Mike," April began.

"God, April!" Mike yelled at her, becoming even angrier by the second. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

"I'm sorry." She pleaded, a few tears running down her cheeks.

"Look, I know your family is dead, but you can't just go and bring in my shit family to compensate for that!"

April gasped, feeling like she had just been punched. And just like that, Mike snapped out of his anger, realizing what he had done. "April," Mike tried as she began to stagger away from him. "I didn't mean it. I was just mad."

He tried to go for her arm, but she yanked it away. "Fuck off, Mike." She turned around and hurried off behind the club.

Mike took a few steps after her, but he knew he was the last person she wanted to see right now. "April!"

His father let out a low whistle ending in Mike grinding his teeth together. "Well, son, looks like you didn't fall too far from the tree."

"Fuck off, Dad." Mike spoke, trying to restrain himself from punching him in the face.

"Just an observation." He spoke innocently while throwing his hands in the air.

"You know," Mike spoke, turning around to look at him. "I haven't seen or heard from you in twenty years, and this is really how you want to come back into my life? A jackass?"

Michael gulped a little bit, finding those words digging a little deeper than he thought they would. He opened his mouth, about to talk to his son, but Mike shook his head at him. "Save the disappointment for another time. I have to find my fiancé." Mike took off where he last saw April run off as his father continued to stand there and watch him, not sure what to do, but he knew he wanted to help his kid for once.

April was sitting on one of the discarded crates by the entrance of the kitchen while still gasping from her tears. Megan was outside with her, rubbing her shoulder. April didn't want to bother Brianna. She wanted her to enjoy her party, but Megan wasn't going to buy that April was okay. There was no way she was leaving her side for the rest of the party.

Mike came running down the ally, both of the girls standing up at the sight of him. Megan moved in front of him, not going to allow Mike to even come a ten foot radius of her. "No way." She simply spoke while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Mike shut his eyes. How didn't he expect something like this to happen? "Please, Megan. Just let me apologize."

Megan shook her head as she looked him up and down. "I don't think you even deserve to apologize after the shit you just pulled."

Mike opened his mouth to talk again, but April was coming out from behind Megan. "It's fine."

Megan turned to her, irritated. "I thought I told you to stay back?"

April had to blink at her a couple of times. "You're not my mom. I'm a grown woman, and I can talk to whoever I want."

Megan threw her hands in the air while mocking her voice before walking off, leaving just April and Mike. "Baby," Mike began. April's arms were crossed in front of her chest protectively, not sure if she really wanted to listen to him. "I am so sorry I said all of those things to you, that man…he just makes me crazy."

April looked him up and down, not totally understanding it. "I just don't understand how you could hate the man who helped create you so much."

"Baby," Mike began while letting out a little sigh. "It's a long story."

"Yeah," April scoffed while shaking her head. "That's what you say every time I bring it up. Maybe if you would open up to me then I would have never invited him." She looked at how helpless Mike had looked. His dad seemed to turn him into another person she didn't even recognize. "What the hell did he do to you?"

Mike took in a deep, rounded breath before looking back to her. "Um," April noticed how small he looked in that moment. "He got drunk, and he hit my mom." April bit her lip, really hating herself for inviting him now. "And then when that wasn't enough, he would hit me, and then eventually Daniel. I was sixteen when he hit Daniel, and then I jumped him, and told him to get out." Mike finally met eye contact with April, his eyes getting watery at the memory of it. "And he did, and I haven't seen him since." He shook his head, still not breaking his stare with her. "And when I saw him…I just thought of that night all over again…and I just…"

April didn't waste any moment after that, she hurried to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry I brought all of that up for you."

Mike had to take a deep breath, finding it hard to believe that after everything, she forgave him. There was that empathy again. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, loving the feeling of her being pressed against his chest. "I'm sorry I was such an asshole." He whispered before kissing the top of her head.

When April broke away to look up at him, the two shared a quick, soft kiss, April taking a deep sigh before speaking again. "But I swear to god, if you ever talk to me like that again, I'm going to stab you in the chest."

"And I would take it." Mike told her, nodding in agreement, still feeling awful for those words he said.

They shared another quick kiss before going back into a hug. They knew they had a lot of damage control to cover, but they just wanted to spend a few moments like that. Embracing each other like they didn't have a care in the world.

* * *

Ultimately, they found Michael Sr at the bar, getting a drink as the two stood side by side to confront him. "Dad," Mike began, ending in his dad turning to look to the two, noticing they both had their arms crossed in a business stance. "First thing's first, answer me truthfully right now if you even _want_ to go to this wedding."

April stared down Michael Sr, him not really seeing that side of her before. He was already so used to the push over he saw at the airport, but it was like she was a completely different woman. "Son," He began while looking at Mike. "I know you'll never forgive me for what happened back then, but I do want to be there for you when you marry the love of your life."

Both Mike and April shared a slightly concerned face before looking back to him. This really wasn't what they expected. "Then," Mike began again, trying to figure out how to turn this all around. "I expect an apology not just to me, but my mother and Daniel."

"Of course." His father spoke while nodding.

"And we want you to be sober." April cut in, knowing that was her one huge deal besides the apology. "We can set up for you to go to AA meetings, but if you don't attend the meetings or if you fall off the wagon even once, your invitation will be revoked."

He took a deep gulp before nodding in agreement. "That's fair."

"And," Mike began, not really looking at his father in that moment, knowing this was going to be the hardest condition of them all. "We'd like to spend some time with you before. Both individually and as a pair."

Michael Sr got a small smile on his face before nodding to the terms. "I would like that."

"But only sober." Mike countered while pointing at him.

"You have my word, son."

Mike took a deep breath at that word. Since he had come back, that was the first time he heard him say it sincerely. "Alright." Mike spoke with a shrug.

April was looking back and forth at them, wanting them to hug so bad. It was like she just needed it. Mike turned to look at her, feeling her eyes on him. "What?" He snapped out.

April took a deep sigh, knowing they had to work through baby steps before they could accomplish anything. "Nothing. Never mind."

The two exchanged numbers with Michael Sr, and began working on days they would meet each other and schedule the meeting with him and Ainsley and Daniel. Michael Sr promised that tomorrow would start his first day completely sober.

After he left, they could actually enjoy the party, feeling way better now than when they first started. "You know," Mike spoke as the two danced together. "You actually kind of fixed things."

April had to blink a few times at that observation. Was he being sarcastic or sincere? She couldn't tell. "I fix _everything_ , why are you just now realizing that? You're the one who fucks everything up."

"Hey," Mike spoke in a warning tone. "I saved you in the White House, remember?"

April shook her head, finding herself very offended at that moment. "You saved me?" He nodded like it was obvious. "Because the way I remember it, I was saving the _world_ and you were just stabbing a guy in the brain."

All Mike could do was laugh. He knew Megan and Brianna were going to be pissed at him for a while, but all he cared about right now was that April was still his. "I love you."

April nodded while moving her body even closer to his, the two prepared to dance the night away and leave everything bothering them behind. "I love you."

 _ **stormrunner74: Thank you so much for letting me know I put up the wrong chapter!**_

 _ **NGArmyWife: I'm so excited to write the wedding and them kicking ass too! Also, thank you as always for your amazing reviews!**_

 _ **MisfitCarter: Oh, my goodness, that's hilarious. I hope you didn't let her get under your skin like April did. Or you could always take the route my boss tells me to take whenever I tell her about a problem, "just punch her in the face". Thank you always for being one of the best readers/reviewers EVER!**_

 _ **Okay, I'm so mad, do you guys ever just get a chapter perfectly edited, and then you click save, and FANFIC JUST LOGS YOU OUT LIKE IT YOU DIDN'T JUST SPEND HOURS MAKING SOMETHING PERFECT?! So, there may be some mistakes in this chapter, but you can go ahead and blame this website. Alright, I actually have pretty excited news. It's personal, but I'm gonna tell you guys anyway because when do I ever keep personal things from you guys? My best friend Megan and I have a business! It's the smallest step of a small business you could ever have like I'm just a vendor in a store, but it's a business nonetheless! We're making bath soaks so you guys let me know if you need any for a gift or for yourself. I may have to make an Etsy page for my internet friends, but I'll tell you more about it when Megan and I decide to take that route. Anyways, enough about me. This chapter ended up coming out so different than how I had planned it (tbh that's why I never plan anything. My characters are like hell no let's do this and I'm like wait what?) but I really like how it came out, and I hope you guys do to! Alright, friends, leave me some reviews, and I'll see you next time!**_


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